Training info on Twitter: @AW_Performance

TYPICAL TRAINING WEEK

Sunday (am) 25-28km general endurance in Richmond Park a great place for walking due to the variety of gradients, scenery and sporty people on the move. Stags and deer are used to my walking prowess now! My coach, Raph, used to jog past as well and check my technique, especially towards the end and during short climbs. (am) 1hr 30min performance drills: these are a combination of body awareness, movement dissociation, neural activation and mobility work. Also called foundation drills Raph changed the name to spur some motivation! (pm) 1hr monitored session at St Marys. This is a great session to check how my engine is doing and get me used to threshold eort. The sports science department are excellent to read through my values and advise upon short and long-term goals. Videos of my technique are also recorded for analysis and action-plan for the Friday session. (pm) 10/12km easy. Tuesday (am) Tempo or short aerobic power session depending on time of the season (a combination of 10x1km or 3-4x3-4km with active recovery. Cold baths and compression garments. (pm) Regeneration: self-release session and 30min of easy jog/walk/swim. Wednesday (am) 20km easy (general endurance) with pace play. (pm) Strength and conditioning at St Marys. Functional drills review followed by endurance strength with some elements of maximal strength. Thursday (am) Monitored threshold session as Monday. (pm) 10/12km easy. Friday (am) Technical session and neural activation. (pm) Physio check with Raph and 10km transfer. Saturday (am) Aerobic power session: a combination of 3/2/1km for 12-18km according to the week of the precompetition mesocycle. (pm) Regeneration as per Tuesday. The above sessions are specic to the individual athlete and may not be suitable for other athletes 500m active recovery, which is easy walking, especially when training in a group. However, my least favourite session would be the double general endurance days including 15km in the morning and 12km in the evening. The 22-year-old has been lucky thus far not to have missed too much training due to injury. He says: In 2010 I had a groin problem that forced me to stay o training for six weeks. However, since then, I have suered from small niggles in the winter period and these have been mainly due to training errors. These have only cost me a few days at most and last winter I managed to train at a great intensity for the whole winter and this resulted in my steady improvement this year. With short-term goals of lowering the long-standing 25year-old British 20km record of 82:03, a top 10 at the European Championships and being competitive at the front end of the eld at the next Olympics, the runner-turned-walker is not short of ambitions.

Coaching courses
ENGLAND
Athletics Leader November 2: English Institute of Sport, Sheffield. Cost: 130 (EA affiliated 95). Coaching Assistant November 2: Gateshead College Academy of Sport. Cost: 190 (EA affiliated 145). Athletics Coach November 2-3: Loughborough University, Athletics Pavilion. Cost: 400 (EA affiliated 250). November 2-3: Eastlands (Sportcity), Manchester. Cost: 400 (EA affiliated 250). Leadership in Running & Fitness November 2: SportPark, Loughborough University. Cost: 110.

Monday

NORTHERN IRELAND
Coaching Assistant November 9-10: University of Ulster, Jordanstown. Cost: 135. Leader in Running & Fitness November 17: University of Ulster, Jordanstown. Cost: 75. Contact: info@athleticsni.org

He says: I had started training in a completely new set-up at the Endurance Performance Centre at St Marys University, Twickenham, where my coach was part of the England Athletics national development programme. It was a fantastic feeling to beat my PB by over 1min 30sec and gain my rst A standard for a major championships. It was also a great race for me, as I had made a lot of technical improvements that reflected well in the race. Even though his multi-event involvement in athletics is now well behind him, he includes some running in his training regime. Wright says: I jog for an easy regeneration session during the winter period, but I tend not to do any running while in preparation for major races. Wright spends most of his time training alone in South London but admits: Ive been lucky enough this year to be invited to train with Irelands Rob Heernan, this years 50km world champion and also his countryman Olympian Brendan Boyce on a few dierent camps.

This has been hugely benecial to my approach to world-class training and this has given me the opportunity to learn from the best in the world. The Belgrave Harriers favourite session is a good tempo session. He says: As long as it goes well, something like 7x2km with a
MARK SHEARMAN

SCOTLAND
Coaching Assistant November 9-10: Pitreavie, Dunfermline. Cost: 150 (SA 50% subsidiary available). November 16-17: Grangemouth Stadium. Cost: 150 (SA 50% subsidiary available). Athletics Leader November 9: Craigswood, Livingston. Cost: 90. November 16: Pitreavie, Dunfermline. Cost: 90. Contact: Jim Goldie at coaching @scottishathletics.org.uk

WALES
Leadership in Running & Fitness October 26: Lampeter Leisure Centre, Lampeter, Dyfed. Cost: 90. November 30: Bridgend Athletics Club, Cost: 90. Contact: dave.goodger@ welshathletics.org

Alex Wright: working hard in pursuit of success

ATHLETICS WEEKLY | 37